Later that day, Kael was summoned.
Not to training.
To the archives.
A dim chamber filled with old texts, burned fragments, and relics.
At its center sat an older man, thin, with soot-stained fingers.
"You must be Kael," he said without looking up.
"Who are you?" Kael asked.
"Eldric Thane," he replied. "I remember things others prefer to forget."
Kael stepped closer. "Then start remembering."
Eldric finally looked up.
"You've already met one of them, haven't you?" he asked.
Kael's chest tightened.
"…Yes."
Eldric nodded slowly.
"Then you've met a Refined Flame."
Kael frowned. "That's what it was?"
Eldric's eyes darkened.
"No," he said.
"That's what it used to be."
-End of Chapter 42-